Will Moss

I am a 2D Visual Effects Artist, specialising in Compositing. From studying ‘The Art of Visual Effects’ at Escape Studios, I have gained 3 years of academic experience in Roto/Prep, CG Integration, and Keying using Foundry’s Nuke. I am passionate about creating both photoreal and stylised work, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the work I have produced during my time at Escape Studios. I am hoping to start my career in Compositing or Roto/Prep on commercial or long-form projects.

SHOWREEL

GET TO KNOW WILL

Describe yourself in 5 words.

Five words that I would use to describe myself would be creative, enthusiastic, collaborative, efficient, and bubbly. Creativity has always come naturally to me since as early as I can remember, which has motivated me to join the creative industry. While at Escape Studios, I have learned to become more efficient with my work and become a better collaborator during group projects. I always try to find the solutions to the problems while maintaining a happy and light-hearted environment as I strive to produce the highest quality work possible.

If you were an animal, which one would you be and why?

If I were an animal, I believe I would be a dolphin! Dolphins are extremely good communicators amongst their pod, while also symbolising themes of support, teamwork, and joyfulness. Dolphins also have spiritual connotations to guidance, a quality of which leaders possess. I believe I have similar characteristics to those that a dolphin may possess; Some may be more prominent than others, but I will strive to harness and improve upon the important characteristics listed to progress and develop through my career.

Tell us an achievement you're proud of.

An achievement that I am incredibly proud of includes the awards that 'Shimmer', the short film that I directed, has won awards at both National and International Film Festivals. One of the most recent awards that 'Shimmer' has won is 'Best VFX' at the London International Monthly Art Film Festival in May 2022. As well as this, 'Shimmer' received an Honourable Mention for 'Best First-Time Director' at The Art Film Awards in February 2022.

Describe a challenge that you had to overcome in your group projects.

A specific challenge during a group project that I had to overcome was during a project where 3D and 2D mimicked the VFX production pipeline. When creating one of the shots for the sequence, it came to my attention that the 3D team did not have enough time to produce the CG elements. I had to improvise and adapt to this development to both create and acquire 2D elements. After many attempts and revisions, I was able to produce the desired outcome to a high standard using the 2D elements without sacrificing the quality of the shot.

Which movie inspired you the most to choose this career path and why?

My career path was not inspired by a movie, but a TV show. This TV show aired on Disney Channel between 2007-2012, called 'Wizards of Waverly Place'. It followed a family of wizards that use spells to get themselves in and out of trouble. From as young as 11, this inspired me to attempt to recreate their magical effects in After Effects, which I found very enjoyable and fun. To this day, I always reference this show because it had such an impact on my creative development, and has guided me to follow a career path that I love.

Describe your favourite VFX sequence.

My favourite visual effects sequence now comes from the newly premiered: 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'. The sequence where both Stranges' use the surrounding musical instruments to influence their magical battle was incredibly creative and unique and, of course, the VFX looked fantastic and photoreal. All of the vibrant, glowing musical notes integrated perfectly into the dark, eerie scene, and the contrast of the orange and purple colours amongst the dull backplate really brought the magic to life.

What was your crowning moment of your time at Escape?

A crowning moment for me at Escape Studios would have to be winning 5 awards for 'Shimmer' (as of May 2022). 'Best VFX' has been won at both the London and Athens International Monthly Film Festival, and the Heart of Europe International Film Festival. We also won 'Best Creative' at the Halicarnassus Film Festival and 'Best Animated Film' at the Milan Gold Awards. Finally, we won an honourable mention for 'Best First-Time Director' at the Art Film Awards. Having an enthusiastic and hard-working team bring my ambitious idea to life was incredibly exciting yet challenging. Although there are a few aspects that I would change to improve the overall animation and VFX, I am extremely proud of what the team produced and I will always treasure the work that we created.